Mexican college playoffs kick off this weekend

| American Football | 11/11/2023

It took until the final weekend of play for the last playoff spots to be secured but the playoff bracket for the 2023 ONEFA Major League is now set in both the BIG-14 and the National Conference.

With quarterfinals in the BIG-14 and a wildcard round in the National Conference, here are the matchups for this weekend.

Week 9 served to define an exciting and memorable regular season in both the BIG 14 and the National Conference. But now, as teams move forward, there’s no room for mistakes in the single-elimination playoffs.

The teams that qualified for the playoffs are as follows:

BIG 14 CONFERENCE

Group A

  1. Borregos MTY (7-1)
  2. Borregos PUE (6-2)
  3. Pumas CU (4-4)
  4. Borregos CCM (4-4)

Group B

  1. Auténticos Tigres UANL (7-1) * (Seed #1 overall)
  2. Águilas Blancas IPN (7-1)
  3. Leones Anahuac MX (5-3)
  4. Pumas Acatlán (4-4)

Group A witnessed Pumas CU defeat Pumas Acatlán 38-19, and Águilas Blancas secured a 21-10 victory over Burros Blancos. As a result, Pumas CU rose to #3, Borregos CCM dropped to #4, and Burros Blancos were eliminated at the #5 spot.

In the other group, Borregos MTY eliminated Borregos CEM with a 37-20 win, while Leones Anáhuac MX narrowly triumphed 29-27 over Aztecas UDLAP, securing the #3 spot for Anáhuac and #4 for Pumas Acatlán, despite their loss in Ciudad Universitaria.

The quarterfinal matchups are as follows:

– Auténticos Tigres UANL hosts Pumas UNAM Acatlán (Friday, November 10, 19:00 hours, Gaspar Mass, Nuevo León), broadcasted on YouTube channel 53 [link](https://www.youtube.com/c/Canal53UANL).

– Borregos MTY hosts Borregos CCM (Friday, November 10, 19:30 hours, Estadio Banorte, Nuevo León)

– Águilas Blancas hosts Leones Anáhuac (Saturday, November 11, 12:00 hours, Casco de Santo Tomás, Mexico City), live on Facebook [link](https://www.facebook.com/touchdownenelonce).

– Borregos PUE hosts Pumas UNAM CU (Saturday, November 11, 13:00 hours, Cráter Azul, Puebla)

Eight teams out of the 14 will advance to the elimination phase. The quarterfinals will maintain intergroup matchups, and for the semifinals, there will be crossovers between groups to determine the finalists of the ONEFA main Conference.

NATIONAL CONFERENCE

It’s not just about winning the championship for these teams; the winner ascends to the 14 Greats. In this conference, the top 2 teams from each conference, North, Bajio, and Center, move on.

Group North

  1. Águilas UACH (6-2)
  2. Zorros CETYS (6-2)

Group Bajío

  1. Borregos QRO (8-0)
  2. Tecos UAG (5-3)

Group Center

  1. Leones Anáhuac Cancún (7-1)
  2. Búhos IPN (7-1)

With three competition groups, the top two from each circuit enter the postseason. A new standings table was then organized with the remaining six teams: first, the leaders, in descending record order; then, the runners-up, using the same logic, yielding the following result.

PLAYOFF ORDER

  1. Borregos QRO (8-0)
  2. Leones Anáhuac Cancún (7-1)
  3. Águilas UACH (6-2)
  4. Búhos IPN (7-1)
  5. Zorros CETYS (6-2)
  6. Tecos UAG (5-3)

WILDCARD ROUND

– Borregos QRO (1) and Leones Anáhuac Cancún (2) have a bye.

– Búhos IPN hosts Zorros CETYS Mexicali (Saturday at 12:00 hours, Estadio Wilfrido Massieu, Mexico City).

– Águilas UACH hosts Tecos UAG (Saturday at 18:00 hours, Estadio Olímpico de Chihuahua, Chihuahua).

**Wildcard winners will face off in the next round. The lower-seeded team will visit Tec in Querétaro, while the higher-seeded team will travel to Cancún to face the Leones in the semifinals.**

This is how the most crucial stage of the 2023 season will be played: in the 14 Greats, to determine the best American football team in México; in the National, to find out which team earns its ticket to the highest circuit.